Mumbai: The suspect who fired at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's residence in Mumbai, was spotted in CCTV cameras placed near the Vile Parle railway station as he was fleeing after committing the crime, officials said on Tuesday.
Multiple teams of the Mumbai police's crime branch are working round the clock to arrest the shooter and his associates, an official said.
At least five rounds were fired at the first floor of Shetty's nine-storey building in the Juhu area at around 12.45 am on Sunday. One bullet struck the glass of a gym located in the building. Four persons have been arrested in Pune and were remanded in the Mumbai police's custody till February 5, the police have said.
"While examining the CCTV footage in the Juhu and Vile Parle area, police spotted the shooter, riding a two-wheeler and later abandoning it near St Joseph Church Road in Vile Parle area. He caught another vehicle, most probably an autorickshaw, which dropped him near Vile Parle railway station," the official said.
The shooter was spotted in CCTV cameras placed in the vicinity of the station, but he had put a mask on his face, he said.
"As the suburban train services were not operating at that time and as he feared getting captured in high quality CCTV cameras, he did not enter the station premises and used another vehicle to flee," he said.
Over a dozen teams of police are on the hunt for the shooter, the official said, adding that some of the teams have also gone out of the state as part of the probe.
While investigating the case, officials of the Mumbai crime branch asked filmmaker Rohit Shetty whether he had received any threat from any gang or an individual. He, however, told the police that he did not receive any threat from anybody, neither in the form of message, voice note, calls nor mail.
Shetty was already enjoying protection from the Mumbai police, but after the firing incident, his security has been stepped up further, the official said.
"The four arrested persons are currently being interrogated by the crime branch officials, and they have told the police that they only played a role in providing logistical support and scooter to the shooter," he added.
One of the arrested accused, Aditya Gayki, had purchased the two-wheeler for Rs 30,000 from its Pune based owner.
The accused persons were in contact with Shubham Lonkar over Signal app, the official said, adding that the weapon to execute the firing was given to the shooter by one more person, whose search was also underway.
Lonkar, a Lawrence Bishnoi gang member, is also an accused in the Baba Siddique murder case.
"Police are also trying to track Shubham Lonkar. He was last traced to Nepal last year. Lonkar deleted his social media account after claiming responsibility for the firing at Shetty's residence," the official said.
During the investigation, the crime branch officials found that Lonkar's social media account had been deleted.
After claiming responsibility for the attack, Lonkar clicked a photo of the post, made it viral on social media and deleted the post later, he said.
Rohit Shetty is best known for the "Golmaal" and "Singham" franchises led by Ajay Devgn and for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Chennai Express".
Multiple teams of the Mumbai police's crime branch are working round the clock to arrest the shooter and his associates, an official said.
At least five rounds were fired at the first floor of Shetty's nine-storey building in the Juhu area at around 12.45 am on Sunday. One bullet struck the glass of a gym located in the building. Four persons have been arrested in Pune and were remanded in the Mumbai police's custody till February 5, the police have said.
"While examining the CCTV footage in the Juhu and Vile Parle area, police spotted the shooter, riding a two-wheeler and later abandoning it near St Joseph Church Road in Vile Parle area. He caught another vehicle, most probably an autorickshaw, which dropped him near Vile Parle railway station," the official said.
The shooter was spotted in CCTV cameras placed in the vicinity of the station, but he had put a mask on his face, he said.
"As the suburban train services were not operating at that time and as he feared getting captured in high quality CCTV cameras, he did not enter the station premises and used another vehicle to flee," he said.
Over a dozen teams of police are on the hunt for the shooter, the official said, adding that some of the teams have also gone out of the state as part of the probe.
While investigating the case, officials of the Mumbai crime branch asked filmmaker Rohit Shetty whether he had received any threat from any gang or an individual. He, however, told the police that he did not receive any threat from anybody, neither in the form of message, voice note, calls nor mail.
Shetty was already enjoying protection from the Mumbai police, but after the firing incident, his security has been stepped up further, the official said.
"The four arrested persons are currently being interrogated by the crime branch officials, and they have told the police that they only played a role in providing logistical support and scooter to the shooter," he added.
One of the arrested accused, Aditya Gayki, had purchased the two-wheeler for Rs 30,000 from its Pune based owner.
The accused persons were in contact with Shubham Lonkar over Signal app, the official said, adding that the weapon to execute the firing was given to the shooter by one more person, whose search was also underway.
Lonkar, a Lawrence Bishnoi gang member, is also an accused in the Baba Siddique murder case.
"Police are also trying to track Shubham Lonkar. He was last traced to Nepal last year. Lonkar deleted his social media account after claiming responsibility for the firing at Shetty's residence," the official said.
During the investigation, the crime branch officials found that Lonkar's social media account had been deleted.
After claiming responsibility for the attack, Lonkar clicked a photo of the post, made it viral on social media and deleted the post later, he said.
Rohit Shetty is best known for the "Golmaal" and "Singham" franchises led by Ajay Devgn and for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Chennai Express".
